Festive fun in Orlando beyond the theme parks

Theme park capital Orlando is all set for a memorable holiday season with two months of nonstop festive celebrations.

While Orlando’s theme parks are the main draw, there is much more to experience beyond Disney, Universal and the other major parks.

From star-studded performances to enchanting festive displays, here’s what to expect this festive season:

Asian Lantern Festival: Into the Wild, presented by Publix, will return for a fifth year at the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens on select nights (Nov. 15 – Jan. 19) and feature larger-than-life handcrafted lanterns lit by more than 10,000 LED lights. Situated on a quarter-mile loop around the zoo, the event combines color, light and sound to celebrate traditional Asian lantern festivals.

Crayola Experience’s Colorful Christmas (Nov. 23 – Jan. 5) returns with SNOWtastic adventures including a life-sized snow globe, complete with falling snow, a light show starring Scarlet and her singing reindeer, scavenger hunts, live entertainment, crafts, holiday treats and more.

Harry P. Leu Gardens blooms with a million sparkling lights, shining forests, music and beautiful sculptures during “Dazzling Nights” (Nov. 29 – Jan. 5). The three-quarter mile, family-friendly interactive holiday experience features a new nighttime show with 100 10-feet-tall beacons of light and a 30-feet-tall tree with thousands of shimmering, gold sequins. During the day, “Holiday Blooms” showcases a collection of floral and holiday-themed displays throughout the garden.

The Orange County Regional History Center hosts The Historic Holiday Experience (select dates Dec. 3-18), offering caroling, storytelling, festive craft making, milk and cookies and a private visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus. The one-hour ticketed experience is $30 per person.

Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts showcases a series of events, from star-studded concerts qnd the beloved holiday classic Elf in Concert, November 29; The Nutcracker presented by the Orlando Ballet, Dec. 6-22; Home for the Holidays presented by the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Nov. 30; a new Winter Wonder Shoppe, featuring world-renowned aerial and acrobatic artists of Cirque Mechanics, Dec.12-29.

Original Orlando Tours is offering a Winter Park Old Fashioned Christmas Cruise starting on Dec. 2 and taking place on select evenings throughout December along the Winter Park Chain of Lakes to view the holiday light displays and décor of private homes along the waterfront.

The 6th annual Oh, What Fun! Holiday Festival (select weekends Dec. 6-22) transforms the Lake Nona Town Center into Peppermint Square with nightly snowfalls, live entertainment, festive photo ops and more.

Celebrating its 72nd year, Winter Park’s annual Ye Olde Hometown Christmas Parade (Dec. 7), the oldest continuous holiday parade in Central Florida, will feature over 80 participating organisations, including marching bands, an appearance by Santa and more.

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex hosts  Holidays in Space (Dec. 20-30), a festive holiday celebration included with admission, featuring  Starflake’s Holiday Voyage, a nightly projected show on the exterior of Gateway: The Deep Space Launch Complex, where visitors can embark on a journey with Starflake to travels through the stars, Earth and beyond. There is festive holiday décor, including a tree with more than 61,000 pixels of light; the returning Rocket Tree Trail; astronaut nutcrackers and more.

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